Aravane. I’m having difficulties controlling my emotions, Uldis.
Uldis. How do you mean?
Aravane. Things are just triggering me. I can’t wait in lines anymore. I feel like bursting into flames. It’s going to take more than basic stress relief to resolve whatever is inside of me.
Uldis. This reminds me of a time when ghosts came into my dreams. They would come, enter my head, and scream their hatred inside of me.
Aravane. I guess you could call what’s inside of me ghosts screaming.
Uldis. I let it happen for about a month, but it was because I let myself believe that the next day would the day when the ghosts would have nothing to scream about, but they always had something the next day. They would fill my head with unnecessary hatred every morning.
Aravane. Are you still having these dreams?
Uldis. No, they’re gone. I finally realized that I could no longer wait out the ghosts. I had to do something about it. I was losing weight. I stopped grooming. I was a mess. People thought I was depressed, and I guess I was, but it wasn’t because of self-hatred or deep loss.
Aravane. What did you do?
Uldis. It took me some figuring out, but I found that if I slept somewhere else, like a bench or a friend’s house, the ghosts would not be in my dreams.
Aravane. So, they only came when you slept in your room. It’s specific to your room.
Uldis. Right.
Aravane. So did you move out?
Uldis. Nope. I took a long vacation in the Caribbean. I slept on the beach, next to waterfalls; I felt as though I was living to sleep rather than experiencing things awake.
Aravane. But what happened when you came back to your apartment?
Uldis. Nothing. The ghosts went away. I dream of friends in illogical situations.
Aravane. Where do you think the ghosts went?
Uldis. They weren’t real, Aravane. They were a product of my unconsciousness, and it was going though this sort of perpetual cycle. I broke it when I went on vacation, so my unconsciousness changed cycles so that the ghosts don’t come back anymore.
Aravane. What if they come back again?
Uldis. Well, I know if they do, I can do something about it.
Aravane. So, I have to change my unconscious perpetual cycle.
Uldis. It’s worth a try.
Aravane. I have no idea where to start.
Uldis. You’ll figure something out. I’ve always thought the unconsciousness was overrated anyways. Play within its rules, and you can beat it.
Aravane. I wonder if it’s healthy to fool the unconsciousness like that.
Uldis. It seems only fair.
End. Unconscious Perpetual Cycle